


Anthea

by gowerstreet



Series: Recruitment of the Half-Seen [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen, Mycroft gets his world in order, Talentspotting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-22
Updated: 2013-03-22
Packaged: 2017-12-06 03:25:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/730967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gowerstreet/pseuds/gowerstreet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A man recently promoted into high office finds himself in need of an effective assistant. Thankfully, someone knocks at his door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anthea

“Good morning, Mr Holmes, what a pleasure it is to welcome you to the Department.” Mycroft smiled briefly and shook Jones’ hand.

“Thank you for your time. The hard copy documentation provided me with an excellent overview.”

Jones glowed with undeserved praise. "It was the least I could do.”

Precisely, thought Mycroft. “I will take no more of your time, as I realised that you have a great deal still to do.” He headed into his new office and deposited the folio on the desk. Jones hovered for a moment before realising he had been dismissed and crept out, silently closing the door behind him.

It was fortunate that professional insincerity came easily to him, otherwise Jones might have had an inkling of his fury. Jones had done nothing more than add his name to someone else’s work. Never mind. He would be retiring at the end of the week.

So who had written this? He flicked through the pages and peered at the miniscule reference. KJ/421.031210/AM. He needed to find AD, and hoped they were still in the building.

The door opened unexpectedly at precisely half past eleven. It was a young woman in a well-loved black jumper and cheap trousers, her arms full of files. She looked at him and he looked at her. “Mr Holmes, I’m sorry to disturb you. I thought you’d be at lunch. I need to file these.” Clearly nervous, but determined to stand her ground. “I can come back later if that would be more convenient.”

Mycroft locked his computer screen and smiled. “Continue, please. In fact, I would be glad if you would guide me through the system, so that I can begin to make sense of it.“ She relaxed slightly as he smiled at her. “What’s your name?”

“Anthea, Sir.” She approached his desk. “Could I put these on here?”

“Certainly. Now where shall we start?”

They worked in near silence over the next hour, but he learned a great deal, both about the Department and also about his new colleague. University educated- not Oxbridge- either Birmingham or Manchester. Living in a hostel to save money or possibly to preserve distance from family members. Employed on a temporary, rolling contract. Severely underpaid and criminally underemployed.That was about to change.

“Thank you, Anthea. May I ask you for a favour?”

“Certainly, sir. What can I do?”

“Buy some lunch.” He handed over a twenty pound note. “I have no allergies, other than a wholly illogical hatred of egg mayonnaise. While we eat, I would like to discuss your authorship of the handover document, and how I might employ your talents to better use than they have been up to this point. ”

“Certainly, Sir.”

By the end of the day, Anthea’s salary was a multiple of what it had been and her job description had evolved into something she could not have previously envisioned. Every cell of her brain ached, but nothing could wipe the smile from her face. What would tomorrow bring?

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to the wonderous souls who contribute to the An Inspired Fanfic thread on the 221b group on Ravelry.


End file.
